Eze 34 | ESV | STEP | The word of the Lord came to me:

1 The word of the Lord came to me: 2 ^a“Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel; prophesy, and say to them, even to the shepherds, Thus says the Lord God: ^bAh, shepherds of Israel ^cwho have been feeding yourselves! ^dShould not shepherds feed the sheep? 3 ^eYou eat the fat, you clothe yourselves with the wool, ^fyou slaughter the fat ones, but you do not feed the sheep. 4 ^gThe weak you have not strengthened, the sick you have not healed, ^hthe injured you have not bound up, ⁱthe strayed you have not brought back, ^jthe lost you have not sought, and with force and ^kharshness you have ruled them. 5 ^lSo they were scattered, because there was no shepherd, and ^mthey became food for all the wild beasts. My sheep were scattered; 6 they wandered over all the mountains and on every high hill. My sheep were scattered over all the face of the earth, ⁿwith none to search or seek for them.

7 “Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord: 8 ^oAs I live, declares the Lord God, surely because ^pmy sheep have become a prey, and my sheep have become food for all the wild beasts, since there was no shepherd, and because my shepherds have not searched for my sheep, but the shepherds have fed themselves, and have not fed my sheep, 9 therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord: 10 Thus says the Lord God, ^qBehold, I am against the shepherds, and ^rI will require my sheep at their hand and ^sput a stop to their feeding the sheep. ^tNo longer shall the shepherds feed themselves. ^uI will rescue my sheep from their mouths, that they may not be food for them.

The Lord God Will Seek Them Out

11 “For thus says the Lord God: ^vBehold, I, I ^wmyself will search for my sheep and will seek them out. 12 As a shepherd seeks out his flock when he is among his sheep that have been scattered, so will I seek out my sheep, and I will rescue them from all places where they have been scattered on ^xa day of clouds and ^ythick darkness. 13 And I will bring them out from the peoples ^zand gather them from the countries, and will bring them into their own land. And I will feed them on ^aathe mountains of Israel, by the ravines, and in all the inhabited places of the country. 14 ^abI will feed them with good pasture, and on the mountain heights of Israel shall be their grazing land. ^acThere they shall lie down in good grazing land, and on rich pasture they shall feed on the mountains of Israel. 15 ^adI myself will be the shepherd of my sheep, ^aeand I myself will make them lie down, declares the Lord God. 16 ^afI will seek the lost, ^agand I will bring back the strayed, and I will bind up the injured, and I will strengthen the weak, and ^ahthe fat and the strong I will destroy. ^{▼▼Septuagint, Syriac, Vulgate I will watch over} I will feed them in justice.

17 “As for you, my flock, thus says the Lord God: ^ajBehold, I judge between sheep and sheep, between rams and ^akmale goats. 18 Is it not enough for you to feed on the good pasture, that you must tread down with your feet the rest of your pasture; and to drink of ^alclear water, that you must muddy the rest of the water with your feet? 19 And must my sheep eat what you have trodden with your feet, and drink what you have muddied with your feet?

20 “Therefore, thus says the Lord God to them: Behold, I, I myself will judge between the fat sheep and the lean sheep. 21 Because you push with side and shoulder, and ^amthrust at all the ^anweak with your horns, till you have scattered them abroad, 22 I will rescue ^{▼▼Or save} my flock; ^apthey shall no longer be a prey. And I will judge between sheep and sheep. 23 And ^aqI will set up over them one shepherd, ^army servant David, and he shall feed them: he shall feed them and be their shepherd. 24 And ^asI, the Lord, will be their God, and my servant David shall be prince among them. ^atI am the Lord; I have spoken.

The Lord’s Covenant of Peace

25 ^au“I will make with them a covenant of peace and ^avbanish wild beasts from the land, ^awso that they may dwell securely in the wilderness and sleep in the woods. 26 And I will make them and the places all around my hill ^axa blessing, and ^ayI will send down the showers in their season; they shall be ^azshowers of blessing. 27 ^baAnd the trees of the field shall yield their fruit, and the earth shall yield its increase, ^bband they shall be secure in their land. And ^bcthey shall know that I am the Lord, when ^bdI break the bars of their yoke, and ^bedeliver them from the hand of those who enslaved them. 28 ^bfThey shall no more be a prey to the nations, ^bgnor shall the beasts of the land devour them. ^bhThey shall dwell securely, and none shall make them afraid. 29 And I will provide for them ^birenowned plantations so that ^bjthey shall no more be consumed with hunger in the land, and no longer ^bksuffer the reproach of the nations. 30 And they shall know that ^blI am the Lord their God with them, and that they, the house of Israel, are my people, declares the Lord God. 31 And you are my sheep, ^bmhuman sheep of my pasture, and I am your God, declares the Lord God.”